Angry about the dollar?

Should we launch our next venture in the US? Or should we start in Europe? The venture is targeted at helping small-businesses, a sector that the US has led. Many people think that the dollar is not the place to be, and yes I would rather be paid in Pounds right now, but then again there's nothing like a little macro-level competition between currencies. Yes the US may be living beyond it's means, but that's just going to force us to become even more productive... Let's see if Nostravo / xodpox can help trigger the next wave.

NFTE Project 762 update:

NFTE's project, Project 762, a documentary about youth entrepreneurship coupled with educational materials, has been chosen as one of the Top 50 projects by American Express cardholders! Once the winning project has been selected, American Express will donate between $1 million and $5 million to bring it to life.

If you are an American Express cardholder, please register and vote at http://www.membersproject.com/ for Project 762 by Sunday, July 15. The top 25 project ideas will be announced July 17. You can find it under "Business and Finance" and titled "Inspiring Kids..."

Voting for the Top 5 projects will taking place July 17-22, with those winners being announced July 24. The final round of voting occurs July 24 - August 5. The Winning Idea will be announced on Tuesday, August 7.

You can place one vote for each American Express Card that you have, so if you have a corporate card, please register and vote with that one in addition to your personal card! And encourage your friends, family members and coworkers with American Express Cards to vote as well.

Please vote for Project 762! This documentary will help bring much-needed attention to the importance of entrepreneurship education in the lives of disadvantaged youth.

An excerpt from Al Gore's book:

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1622015,00.html

I agree that our society has truly regressed to a celebrity-addicted morass. To an increasingly alarming degree, all sides (even those outside of our country) judge individual Americans based on what the media choses to broadcast. I have no say in what is forced out over the airwaves... until now. What will we call this new enlightenment?

Hypermiling

Yesterday I read this article about individuals motivated to maximize their mileage per gallon. Obviously waste is bad, and often the negligible difference in arrival time is not worth the added consumption of fuel (the cost, both direct and indirect, of fossil fuels have been rising in the last few years). Obviously, taking things to the extreme (not slowing for turns, killing the engine while drafting a tractor-trailer, and puttering along in the slow lane) may lower the probability of a successful arrival.

This morning I achieved 23.8 MPG on my ~25 mile commute -- a "score" that I am not that happy about. I was hoping to have a higher score because I was able to leverage a double-trailer UPS truck for the majority of the ride. Regardless, there have been days where I rushed in at 10 MPG, and therefore this is a move in the right direction. Reading the article did shift my focus from minimizing travel time to minimizing fuel consumption while still conforming to basic commuter standards.

New York may ban iPods while crossing street

From this Reuters story today:

"Government has an obligation to protect its citizenry," Kruger said in a telephone interview from Albany, the state capital. "This electronic gadgetry is reaching the point where it's becoming not only endemic but it's creating an atmosphere where we have a major public safety crisis at hand."

This problem of idiots stepping into oncoming traffic has been solving itself for decades, and no, Rep Kruger, the government does not have an obligation to protect its citizenry from themselves. I have no problem requiring hands-free headsets for cell phones, and yes I agree with the current law that it is illegal to listen to headphones while driving (or biking on the road).


Links
Example of Virginia Driving Law

Must Reads:

As I have mentioned principles of Democratic Capitalism a few times, I should probably offer some primary sources for my opinions on the matter.

First: A favorite book that has been with me on so many travels that it's a bit moldy. Ironically, when I was younger and ignorant of the issues that, to me, would become so lucid, Michael Novak joined my family for dinner in Washington.

Compassionate Fiscal Policy?

I am skeptical that Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) holders will be able to survive the Fed's consistent increase in interest rates. Will the Fed pause today? I have a feeling they will, but what are their motivations? The ARM is going to become the fickle friend of the real estate speculator as demand softens and rates rise. Should the Fed take into consideration the impact on these individuals? They are looking to head off inflation, but with the real estate market losing its momentum, how many real estate investors should they sacrifice?
It would be interesting to see how many ARMs are tied to first-time homes vs. investment properties. Should we treat differently risk-seeking speculators and risk-ignorant home-owners?

Attempt at discussion

So, BP and friends (Exxon etc.) can't maintain their pipeline (probably because it is too hard to shift all those billions of dollars of windfall profits up to Alaska to pay for upkeep). This means they shut down, and the market freaks out. I, like you, will probably have to go to the pump in the next week, and pay 10 to 15 cents more per gallon. That, in aggregate, will translate into hopefully enough money for BP to maintain the pipeline. Then, prices will go down. Make sense? Not to me.

Sure consolidation brings greater efficiency in distributing and marketing oil and gas, but as we are starting to see, the consumer really has no short-term say here. I feel as though the consumer is becoming more susceptible to the volatility in the market. Is there a trend of more volatility in the markets, or is it mass-media creating buzz and suppliers taking up the "phantom" slack?

As fuel prices went up last summer, my company elected to give all its employees a special "fuel price" bonus which was well received. It was a short term pressure release on us lowly consumers, and a noble gesture, but not a fair and sustainable solution.

So here's the question. In 30 to 40 years, when fresh water becomes a scarce resource, will we be facing the same situation with massive water-companies (think selling off Canada's lakes via pipelines)? Obviously water needs to be distributed to homes, farms and businesses, but how can we, as consumers, learn to deal with limited resources better?

Are there collective bargaining methods or consumer related game theories that apply here?

Keep in mind that I believe government control is the wrong approach. How can consumers become more sophisticated (which is a great challenge due to the fact that we are on-average uninformed participants in the free market)?

We're going to be looking at both front and back.

Commentary, that is it. We will be humorous.